KORONADAL CITY –– Due to the sudden surge of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases, the local government here placed the city on a more restrictive general community quarantine (GCQ) status for 15 days.
The GCQ starts 8:30 p.m. Friday, September 11, until September 25.
Koronadal is the provincial capital of South Cotabato and the seat of the Soccsksargen region.
As the city reverted to GCQ, the local government restored the “no- movement Sunday” as well as the policy of using color-coded passes for residents going out of their homes.
Mayor Eliordo Ogena said the City Task Force Against COVID-19 decided to put the city under the stricter GCQ due to the “continuous, erratic, and troubling spike of confirmed COVID-19 cases.”
“The virus is already in our midst. We have tested 27 fish vendors positive for COVID-19 who contracted the virus from (the fish port in) General Santos City,” Ogena said in a briefing.
Dr. Editho Vego, city health officer, said the fish vendors are among the 54 COVID-19 active cases in the city recorded as of Wednesday, September 9.
The virus is spreading, Vego said, appealing anew to the public to help contain the disease by observing the prescribed health protocols and to stay home if they are not going out for essential needs.
LZB